Dr Monica Acosta

PhD Hokkaido University, Japan
MSc University of the Republic, Uruguay
BSc University of the Republic, Uruguay

Contact details
Building 502, Level 4, Room 401J
85 Park Road
Grafton

Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 86069
Email: m.acosta@auckland.ac.nz

Dr Acosta completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of the Republic in Uruguay in 1996. Then, she obtained a Master degree in Cell Biology and gained invaluable experience in genetics. She graduated with a PhD in 2002 from Hokkaido University, Japan studying the genetics and molecular characteristics of the eye in Drosophila mutants. Love and science took her to The University of Auckland to investigate the neurochemical and biochemical signals associated with retinal degeneration.

Dr Acosta now is interested in guiding and supporting a research group that leads in the discipline of cell and molecular aspects of eye diseases. In particular, she is researching animal models of retinal degeneration and brain pathologies associated with visual problems.

Dr Acosta research interest includes the discipline of cell and molecular aspects of eye diseases. Specifically, she is passionate about understanding retinal function and development in the normal and diseased retina. She is characterising cell death pathways and candidate natural drugs to aid the understanding and provision of therapies for blindness as observed in inherited retinal dystrophies and in age-related macular degeneration.

For more information please visit the Cell and Molecular Biology of the Retina lab.